Have any PPKers every rented a place through VRBO.com that used a third party agency to handle the rental? The fam and I are going to the Caribbean in the winter and I sent an e-mail to a condo located within a resort. I got a response from a timeshare rental company with the availabilities as well as listings of some of the other rentals they have. As far as I can tell, the company seems legit. They're accredited by the BBB and have Facebook and Twitter accounts. And I haven't been able to find any bad reviews, but I also haven't found any reviews period. None of the properties they are advertising on vrbo have any reviews. I asked about deposits and they said their policy for booking more than 90 days in advance is 50% deposit at booking and the remaining 50 at 90 days before the trip.

So I'm a little skeptical. We've used vrbo in the past but have always booked directly with the owner. As I said, they seem fine, but I don't know if this is common practice or not. Anyone had any experience?